Facebook will maintain privacy settings for the deceased, continue sharing Look Back memorials

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Ever wonder what happens to peoples' Facebook profiles after they die? Facebook has just set the record straight - confirming it will offer loved ones a way to memoralise the dead while still respecting the wishes of its deceased users.

Facebook has announced that it updated policies for deceased users. This change comes mere weeks after the social network granted a father’s request to see his deceased son’s Look Back video. A Look Back video is a one-minute compilation clip that Facebook auto-generates for all users. Facebook launched the feature in celebration of its 10-year anniversary.

In a statement on its Newsroom blog, published on Friday, Facebook revealed it launched a webpage called A Look Back for a Loved One Who Has Passed Away. It's where users can request to view a Look Back video of a deceased loved one. The late person's account must be memorialised first. Facebook has long offered ways for users to report a deceased person or an account that needs to be memorialised.

In addition to Look Back videos, Facebook said it will maintain the visibility of a profile after a Facebook users has passed: "This will allow people to view memorialized profiles in a manner consistent with the deceased person's expectations of privacy," explained Facebook. "We are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see."

Previously, you could only view the memorial page of a deceased user if you were friends. Now, according to Facebook, anyone can view a deceased user's profile - as long as that person's privacy settings deemed it alright. This middle ground is Facebook's way of trying to honour a user's privacy while giving other users access to the person's online life.